The course

German Studies (MA by Research)

Our research staff are experts in German literature, culture, film and history; their research and teaching both include, and move beyond, the more traditional areas of German studies, making Royal Holloway an ideal place to study for a postgraduate degree in German.

This degree enables you to independently explore your area of interest in real depth, it can also provide you with the chance to test or try out an area of study in preparation for doctoral study. Whilst you will be working independently, you won’t be alone, you will receive specialist one-to-one tuition throughout your degree. You will work closely with your specialist supervisor, or supervisors, to develop a clearly defined research topic and complete a 30,000-40,000 word dissertation.

You will be part of our research-led environment in which academic staff are working at the frontiers of their subjects. The breadth of our teaching and research expertise means that we are able to provide the latest thinking, expert support and intellectual challenges. Our cutting-edge work ranges from the medieval to the 21st century and spans literature, cinema, thought and the visual arts. We offer postgraduate supervision by scholars of national and international standing in a large range of fields from the 18th to the 21st century, with emphasis on the Enlightenment and Goethe (including gender and political issues), realism and 19th-century women’s literature, film and literature in the Weimar Republic, Modernism and the European avantgarde, Austrian literature, post-war German cinema, contemporary women’s literature and gender studies. Our academics would be pleased to hear from anyone interested in postgraduate research in their areas of expertise.

From time to time, we make changes to our courses to improve the student and learning experience. If we make a significant change to your chosen course, we’ll let you know as soon as possible.

Teaching & assessment

The taught course will be assessed by a presentation. The dissertation will be examined by an internal and an external examiner. There is no viva voce.

Entry requirements

2:2

UK Honours degree or equivalent in Literature, Fine Art, Media or a related subject.

International & EU requirements

English language requirements

IELTS: 6.5 overall. Writing 7.0. No other subscore lower than 5.5.
Pearson Test of English: 61 overall. Writing 69. No other subscore lower than 51.
Trinity College London Integrated Skills in English (ISE): ISE III.
Cambridge English: Advanced (CAE) grade C.
TOEFL iBT: 88 overall, with Reading 18 Listening 17 Speaking 20 Writing 26.
Duolingo: 120 overall, 135 in Literacy, 135 in Production and no sub-score below 100.

Your future career

On graduating you will have a proven ability to undertake focused research, improved your written and oral presentation skills, and honed skills in critical analysis. In addition, you will have an understanding and a critical awareness of current problems and/or new insights in literature, film, cultural studies or the visual arts. All of the these skills will be appealing to employers and enable you to pursue your chosen career. Alternatively, you will also be in a strong position to continue onto doctoral study, having demonstrated that you have the self direction, originality and initiative required.

In recent years a number of our Languages, Literature and Culture postgraduates have gone on to successful academic careers both in Britain and internationally in the fields of languages, critical theory and film.

Postgraduates have also embarked upon many interesting and successful careers outside academia – in the UK, continental Europe and the United States – including journalism at The Independent, work for NGOs, trade sales, publishing, professional translating, teaching, opera direction, museum curatorship, creative arts, and librarianship.

Fees, funding & scholarships

Home (UK) students tuition fee per year*: £4,786

EU and international students tuition fee per year**: £25,500

Other essential costs***: There are no single associated costs greater than £50 per item on this course

How do I pay for it? Find out more about funding options, including loans, grants, scholarships and bursaries.

* and ** These tuition fees apply to students enrolled on a full-time basis in the academic year 2025/26. Students studying on the standard part-time course structure over two years are charged 50% of the full-time applicable fee for each study year.

Royal Holloway reserves the right to increase all postgraduate tuition fees annually. Be aware that tuition fees can rise during your degree (if longer than one year’s duration), and that this also means that the overall cost of studying the course part-time will be slightly higher than studying it full-time in one year. The annual increase for continuing students who start their degree in 2025/26 will be 5%.  For further information, see the  fees and funding , and terms and conditions.

** This figure is the fee for EU and international students starting a degree in the academic year 2025/26. Find out more

*** These estimated costs relate to studying this particular degree at Royal Holloway during the 2025/26 academic year, and are included as a guide. Costs, such as accommodation, food, books and other learning materials and printing, have not been included.